


Curse of the Gentlebug and the Catgirl

by Coyul



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen, No kwami, Ranma 1/2 au, genderbender, mostly everything else is the same
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-24
Updated: 2016-06-24
Packaged: 2018-07-17 23:16:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7290028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Coyul/pseuds/Coyul
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Marinette is a normal girl with a normal life. Ladybug is the dashing hero who protects Paris with his partner, Chat Noire. No one knows they're the same person.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Curse of the Gentlebug and the Catgirl

It constantly astounded Marinette that she could get used to turning into a male super hero and still not get over having to douse herself with hot water to turn back into herself. What kind of curse changed the victim’s body like that with water, anyway?

She had been 15 when she’d been cursed. Nothing about that day particularly stood out, that is if you didn’t count falling over and crushing nearly all of the macarons she’d been taking to share with the class. It had been worth it to help the old man cross the road, even if that meant only having a few sweets left to share and a wet spot on her pants from the fall.

It wasn’t until that night that she noticed anything weird. Anything weird being a flash of light and a change in perspective as she found herself standing on the roof with the rain falling around her. She’d freaked out and very nearly fallen over the railing that day, her new longer and bulkier limbs and natural clumsiness both contributing to a frantic scramble to pull herself upright.

Nerves more than anything had kept her from running to her parents. Instead, she’d agonized over it for a while before trying water again in the shower. In her panic, she’d turned the hot water on full blast and POOF Marinette the girl had reappeared.

It hadn’t taken long to realize that it would happen every time she got more than just a little wet. Cold water to transform into a guy in a weird polka-dotted suit, hot water to return to herself. She’d begun to experiment with it and found that she was not just a normal boy. She’d gained powers with the transformation.

A few days later, when the first akuma appeared, so had Ladybug and Chat Noire.

Ladybug’s and Chat Noire’s partnership had started interestingly, to say the least. That is to say, Ladybug had literally dropped in on Chat and they’d had to untangle themselves from the string of Ladybug’s yo-yo. From there, however, they’d worked well together, fighting Stoneheart...both times. Their partnership had only blossomed from there.

Sure, Chat was a huge flirt, but she was a good fighter and friend. Marinette had friends at school, but something about a body change and mask really helped her open up. As it turned out, Chat had a similar affliction. Cold water made her more cat-like and hot water removed the transformation.

When Chat shared the story of her first transformation, Marinette had opened up about hers, minus that weird detail about a change in plumbing, which had been just too embarrassing to mention out loud at the time. It had felt good to confide that much in someone else, especially another girl with the same problem—or a similar one at least.

It was the villainess Hawkmoth that had first called it a curse, at the end of their battle with Stoneheart—and Hawkmoth’s only semi-public appearance. Something about the way she’d mentioned it that day had made Ladybug and Chat Noire wonder if their powers were all connected.

The partners spoke of it occasionally, the curse. If they were cursed, surely there was a way to break the curse. Nothing had come to mind until the first Valentine’s Day after her transformation.

They’d been studying fairy tales in school, particularly the kiss that breaks a curse trope. Marinette hadn’t given it much credit until Chat Noire turned on her, having been shot by one of Dark Cupid’s arrows. A kiss had cured her of that, so why couldn’t it break their other curse?

Chat had been devastated that she couldn’t remember her first kiss, but had perked up when Ladybug had suggested that another might solve their other problem.

It hadn’t.

That wasn’t to say the experience hadn’t been completely bad. Except that Chat kept suggesting that they try again every time they met up, which was the real downside to the whole experiment.

Whomever Ladybug might kiss, as a girl, Marinette was saving all of her feelings for a boy at school. The boy who had walked her home the one block from school on his second day because she’d forgotten her umbrella and couldn’t risk being seen changing into Ladybug in the rain.

After a couple years of partnership, Ladybug and Chat Noire’s relationship had only grown. They trusted each other completely. Marinette and Adrien’s relationship, on the other hand? She could never be sure. She’d gone from awkward and incomprehensible to a semi-normal person around the boy, at least. They’d become friends somehow. Alya remained hopeful for more, which made one of them. Marinette was happy to call him a friend, and although her feelings hadn’t changed in two years, she was okay with things the way they were.

It was really astounding how in just one week, three important people had entered her life, and how different her relationship was with each of them. Marinette considered Alya to be the best friend she’d ever had as herself. Chat was Ladybug’s most trusted partner and the only other soul to know anything about their shared curse. Adrien, she’d like to think was the love of her life, but he was a friend for the time being.

Also now, two years after the struggle with Hawkmoth had begun, they’d had their first real scare.

Marinette had had some close encounters before, but never this close. It was only a matter of time before an akuma showed up with power over hot water, after all. That was, if Hawkmoth’s power was connected to hers and Chat’s, as they’d come to suspect. The fight had been tight, considering their sort-of-weakness to hot water, but Ladybug had made it out of the fight and Marinette had made home in time for dinner.

Even though they’d made it out without exposing their identities, the experience still shook her. She had no idea what Hawkmoth was after, but whatever it was, she must be getting desperate if she was pulling out the big water guns.

It could all be a coincidence, she tried to tell herself, as she attempted to sleep that night. It didn’t work.

Predictably, she fell asleep at her desk the next morning.

* * *

If it hadn’t been for his driver-slash-bodyguard, Adrien would not have made to school on time the next day. It had been a long and stressful battle, possibly the most stressful in two years, considering the akuma they’d been against.

The first time he’d transformed trumped anything he’d experienced since, but the possibility of being left completely helpless and exposed definitely made the top ten.

Two years into the whole superhero thing and Adrien sometimes forgot how weird it had been to step into the shower before the water warmed and been shocked, not by the cold water—though there was that—but by losing several inches in height and gaining a pair of cat ears and a skin-tight leather suit.

There was also the breasts.

He’d been too embarrassed to tell his new partner, Ladybug, about that detail at first, but eventually Chat Noire became quite comfortable in her body and enamored with her ally. By then, that small detail seemed weirder and weirder to bring up. What was she supposed to do? Fist bump. “By the way, I’m actually a guy when I’m not a cat-girl, but you’re still my number one, bugaboo.” Wink.

Yeah, that was too awkward. Adrien had learned awkward in the past couple years. Homeschool kids finally going to school manage to find awkward often enough that he wasn’t planning on doing it on purpose. Not yet, anyway.

Chat Noire had tried, that first Valentine’s after the transformation. Just as she’d decided to declare her love for Ladybug...well, Adrien couldn’t remember anything until the end of the battle. At least Ladybug had been willing to try a kiss again, even though it hadn’t worked.

Those first few months after his initial transformation into Chat Noire had been more action packed than the entire previous year, but Hawkmoth had recently started to pick up her game again. That meant that Paris’s heroes were busier than ever. That night, they had the usual patrol of the city planned, but Adrien predicted there’d be more in store.

The class was abuzz with chatr about the latest akuma when he entered the classroom. He didn’t have to hear Alya complain to know that that she hadn’t gotten any good shots. They’d made sure to lead the fighting into less populated areas—and far from Alya—for more than just safety. Though having their identities revealed to each other would have gone against their self-imposed rules, having all of the Ladyblog’s subscribers privy to their secrets would have been infinitely worse.

Especially given the fact that Chat Noire, devilishly beautiful heroine of Paris, happened to be Adrien Agreste, a 17 year-old student and male model. How disappointed her fans would be to find out that Chat was just Adrien plus cold water? He suspected a few would not take that revelation well.

Chat was perfectly happy with herself as she was. She felt perfectly at home in her transformed body, felt free to express her true self. Finding out that it was possible to magically transform into a girl had been a shock, but it had allowed her to find herself. Adrien Agreste was just as real as Chat Noire and felt just as at home in his body as Chat. Chat was Adrien, and Adrien was Chat. Adrien’s life, however, was suffocating at times, and he could only be his true self when transformed. Chat was Adrien, and Adrien was Chat.

Adrien knew that not everyone would understand it. How could one person be both male and female? He’d had some time to figure it out, but it had been a long process. Would anyone be able to accept him—and her—as is?

He hoped that Ladybug would be okay with it. Adrien knew that Ladybug cared for Chat Noire as a trusted friend and partner, even if he never accepted her flirting as serious.

As he took his seat, the same spot he’d claimed for the past two years, the teacher entered the room, followed by a very flustered Marinette.

“Safe!” he heard Alya announce. Marinette hurried to her seat beside Alya, the same two chairs they’d claimed for the past two years.

Lecture started, and Adrien found himself wishing he’d chosen a seat in the back. Exhaustion from the fight the night before, coupled with the lack of quality sleep, had him nodding off to the less-than-engaging lecture.

Either hours or seconds passed before he heard a thunk, followed by, “Adrien, Marinette, if you cannot stay awake in class, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

Groggy and slow to respond after being woken up, Adrien heard the girl behind him reply first with, “I’m awake!”

“Keep it that way.”

It was going to be a long day.

* * *

Tardiness and falling asleep in class should have been a one-time incident, but it was becoming routine again for Marinette. In the past year, they’d had only a few akuma attacks each month. Lately, however, Marinette felt fifteen years old again and new to the whole superhero thing.

A nap instead of lunch had been a good idea, she decided, as she walked home from school later that day. She couldn’t afford another nap upon returning, not with projects and patrol to do, so she got right to work. By the time she turned on the shower to transform into Ladybug to meet Chat Noire, she’d managed to get the next day’s homework done at least.

Chat was waiting at their meeting spot when she arrived.

“I hope you weren’t waiting long,” she said in greeting as she landed gracefully in front of her partner. She’d long since accepted that her male body was more ladylike than her female body, pun unintended. At least as far as grace and coordination.

“Only my entire life.” Chat smiled, but she looked tired.

“You look as tired as I feel.” Marinette hadn’t slept much due to nerves, but she’d expected Chat Noire to get more rest that she had, given her usual carefree-seeming attitude. The sight of the other girl reminded her, yet again, that there was more to her partner than she usually let on.

“Not to worry, my lady,” Chat replied, using the nickname that—Marinette assumed—had started off as a pun but had turned into Chat’s preferred term of endearment for Ladybug. She wondered what sort of reaction Chat had been expecting from Ladybug, but Marinette couldn’t care less. She was Ladybug, but Ladybug’s body wasn’t hers...not really. “I managed to sleep in class a bit.”

Marinette knew, based on snippets they’d allowed each other, that they were about the same age, so they both went to school during the day. She also knew, because she knew how serious her partner could get when it really came to getting a job done, that whoever was behind Chat Noire’s mask wasn’t someone who made a habit of falling asleep in school. Chat’s forced flippancy, however, told Marinette not make a big deal of it.

“Funny, so did I,” she said before growing more serious. “I’m worried about Hawkmoth, though...”

“She’s getting desperate. We’ll find her.” Chat’s eye’s grew mischievous, then. “We could always try another curse-breaking kiss.” She wagged her eyebrows a bit.

“We tried that, remember?”

“Fourth time’s a charm!”

“Not going to work, not going to happen.”

“Worth a shot.”

Their meeting was getting nowhere, though Marinette didn’t know how they could have made any progress, given that the only new information they had was that Hawkmoth might know the secret to their transformations. They suspected this because she’d given an akuma the power over the one thing that was sure to make them both powerless.

After more talk of the same nature—the kind where they knew nothing and could think of no new solutions—they went on with the regularly scheduled patrol.

The uneventful day ended with an uneventful evening.

* * *

Marinette should have known two quiet days was too much to ask for. Every day the following week, Hawkmoth sent another minion, though she supposed she should thank their adversary for only sending easy fights.

No, they hadn't been that easy. They were becoming routine again. Ladybug and Chat Noir were becoming used to fighting again. They were older and stronger and smarter and there were only so many different kinds of power before things started to repeat and overlap. They’d dealt with nearly the same power or one like it before, so they knew how to handle the newest akuma.

Even so, the constant barrage of attacks was starting to get to Marinette, and she could see that Chat’s ever optimistic attitude was taking a beating as well. Their regular patrols had been postponed for the time being. With so many akuma attacks, they were both too tired and busy with civilian duties.

Marinette wasn’t sure she’d ever catch up on homework, even with lunches spent in a corner of the library, where she found Adrien most days as well. They’d silently decided to share a table every day.

On the second day, Adrien asked her if she’d finished the math worksheet. They worked on it together, then agreed to work together the rest of the week. It was the one bright spot in her newly stressful life.

Marinette brought croissants to share the next day, and the rest of the week. By the end of the week, Adrien had declared to Nino and Alya that Marinette was his favorite because she fed him, which gained a smirk and a wink from Alya. Marinette, however, blushed, laughed it off, and promised to bring enough for all four of them next time.

The weekend came, and with it a strange sort of calm. The week of akuma hell—as Alya had dubbed it—had Marinette on edge, but as the sun set on Saturday without an attack, she began to relax.

She had agreed with Chat that they’d meet at the usual time only if they hadn’t fought an akuma that day, so Marinette transformed and left home once the sun had set, wary yet hopeful for more of a reprieve.

* * *

Ladybug was waiting when Chat arrived for patrol. It was the first in a week, and Chat was glad to see her partner outside of battle for once. “I hope your day was as quiet as mine, my lady,” she said as she arrived at Ladybug’s side.

Though Adrien was relatively tall as a boy, Chat was not so lucky. She didn’t mind, especially in battle when it meant she was a smaller, more nimble target than her male alter ego would have been. It was also nice because the height difference between Ladybug and her was perfect.

It also meant that Ladybug could pat the top of her head quite easily, which he did in greeting. “You’re in a good mood, kitty.

“I had a nice, quiet day,” she replied, happily leaning into the pat. “Bonus points for seeing you outside of battle, of course.”

“Speaking of that,” said Ladybug. His hand left Chat’s head and moved to his hip, signaling a change in tone. “I find it suspicious. Hawkmoth has been relentless this week, but now it’s suddenly quiet. Does she only work weekends?”

“Maybe she went on vacation,” she suggested. There was no way the villainess had decided to give them a reprieve. “Or migrated.” As much as Chat enjoyed being herself, constant fighting wasn’t her favorite thing to do, especially if it meant having to come up with more and more excuses for Adrien.

“We can only hope.” Ladybug nodded, then gestured for Chat to follow. “We should keep a look out, just in case.”

Chat smirked, then moved to follow. “Yeah, we wouldn’t want to miss anyone bugging out.”

“You’re getting rusty.”

“Cut me some slack. I’m tired."

* * *

By the time Monday morning arrived, Marinette was beginning to relax a bit. Two days in a row without an akuma attack wasn’t uncommon, even in the busiest of times. She was well rested for the beginning of the week and had finally caught up with all school work. Lunch, she spent with Alya and the boys, instead of cooped up in the library again.

Tuesday was much the same, though there were rumors of people acting weird. That morning, before class, Alya told the group—and the rest of the class, as they listened in—what little information she’d been able to dig up.

Someone had bitten a dancer at a popular club. Someone else had refused to leave their home, insisting that the sun would kill them. A chef at a local restaurant had refused to use garlic anymore and had gone into a rage when the usual delivery, garlic included, arrived.

“Woah, dude. You know what that means?” Nino said, his eyes wide. “Vampires!”

He’d barely finished speaking the word before Chloe interrupted. “Hmph. How old are you? Vampires aren’t real.”

Alya didn’t look towards the blonde, but she addressed her anyway. “Magic butterflies and mind control are a thing. Why not vampires?”

At that, the class began debating the possibility amongst themselves. With so many voices speaking at once, Marinette decided to keep out of it until things calmed down.

It could be an akuma, she thought, but according to Alya, everyone affected still looked like themselves, even acted normally otherwise. Marinette didn’t know anyone involved, so she had no way of knowing if that part was true.

She was deep in thought when Adrien turned towards her. “What do you think, Marinette?”

She was rarely flustered by unexpected and sudden attention from him anymore, and the recent lunch periods spent together had made her even more accustomed to questions chatting with him. A year or two ago, she might have freaked out. Instead, she looked at him thoughtfully and replied, “I don’t know. The only mythical creatures we’ve seen have been because of akuma…”

“Yeah,” he replied, nodding, though she thought he looked worried.

Before she could think anything else to say, the door to the room opened. A figure, hunched over and covered by a wool blanket, entered and slammed the door shut behind them. No one spoke anymore, their attention pulled towards the door.

“I hope I’m not late,” a voice said from under the blanket, which flew off to reveal Rose.

Everyone stared as she climbed the stairs to her usual seat beside Juleka, who asked what was going on.

“Oh, I couldn’t go out in the sun, so I used the blanket and shadows.”

Alya looked to Marinette with a silent, “what?” then turned to Rose. “Why couldn’t you go out in the sun?”

Rose’s reply was cheerful yet matter-of-fact. “Because I’m a vampire."

* * *

I hope everyone’s okay after Akuma Hell Week. I’ve barely had time to update the blog every day before the next attack. Don’t worry, Buggies, because I’m not going to abandon you in these plentiful times.

The Ladyblog wouldn’t be what it is without you, dear readers. Thank you for all of the submissions this week. I’ll be uploading them this weekend, so keep an eye out for that.

Until then, my own footage from today’s akuma attack is up. Our favorite heroes were particularly camera shy today, but the battle was intense. Enjoy that!

I don’t know about you, readers, but I am excited to see what the future has in store for Ladybug and Chat Noire. I have faith that they will continue to win in the fight against Hawkmoth and her twisted champions. What power will tomorrow’s akuma bring to the fight?

**Author's Note:**

> A big thanks to Kat, my wonderful beta. Look for her contributions here in later chapters. 
> 
> I have lots of ideas for this, so I'm super excited explore those. My plan is to make it kind of episodic, and I'm pulling inspiration from many sources. If you think you see an obscure reference to something, you're probably right.
> 
> I doubt there will be a posting schedule, unfortunately. I thought about waiting to post anything until a good bit of it was done, but then I went and posted before finishing the next part. With a little luck and free time, I'll be able to get more up soon.


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